Cam Newton and Mac Jones both reportedly set to play in Patriots’ preseason opener

New England will face the Washington Football Team at 7:30 p.m.

Mac Jones and Cam Newton during Patriots practice on Aug. 5, 2021. Photo by: Barry Chin/Globe Staff

The Red Sox broke out against the Rays on Wednesday night with a 20-8 win. It was the most runs Boston has scored in a game since 2015. The series against Tampa Bay concludes this afternoon at 4:10 p.m.

Tonight, the Patriots begin a three-game preseason, facing the Washington Football Team at 7:30 p.m.

Cam Newton and Mac Jones: In New England’s preseason opener against Washington, all eyes will inevitably be on the quarterbacks.

Veteran Cam Newton and rookie Mac Jones are vying for the No. 1 spot on the depth chart, and fans will reportedly get to see both play tonight.

According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss, Newton and Jones “are both expected to play.”

Exactly how much each plays remains to be seen, and will be determined by Bill Belichick.

While Belichick’s plans are inevitably difficult to anticipate, the New England coach recently noted that a series of upcoming joint practices with the Eagles (set for next Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 16-17) will “count for something.”

For Jones, the Patriots’ 2021 first-round pick, Thursday will be a first look at live game situations in the NFL, albeit in a preseason setting.

Trivia: The Patriots opened the 2001 preseason with a 14-0 win over the Giants. Drew Bledsoe, Damon Huard, Tom Brady, and Michael Bishop all played quarterback for New England (with Brady, starting the third quarter, going 8-14 for 92 yards passing).

The Giants started Kerry Collins before he gave way to New York’s backup. Name that Giants backup quarterback.

(Answer at the bottom).

Hint: He is now a Giants assistant coach.

More from Boston.com:

Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner threw one of the better first pitches of the season at Fenway Park on Wednesday:

On this day: In 1969, the NBA champion Celtics were sold by P. Ballantine & Sons to Trans-National Communications Inc for a then-NBA record sum of $6 million. The New York-based holding company (which also owned the Oakland Seals of the NHL), would not last as owners of the 11-time NBA champions.

Trans-National president E.E. “Woody” Erdman tried to dispel any notion that the purchase would lead to the Celtics leaving Boston, declaring that “we have no intention of moving the Celtics to another city.”

But by 1970, Erdman freely admitted to Newsday that, “I’m a New Yorker, and it’s natural for me to want my teams to play in New York.”

“I want my teams to play in our Coliseum,” Erdman said of Long Island’s newly constructed Nassau Coliseum.

Fortunately for Boston fans, the move never happened. Trans-National’s financial situation deteriorated, as Red Auerbach explained when discussing Erdman in his autobiography, “Let Me Tell You a Story: A Lifetime in the Game.”

“Now he was the absolute worst,” Auerbach said of Erdman. “A bunch of his other investments went bad and he was stealing money from the team. He insisted that all gate receipts be sent directly to him in New York. He said he would pay all the bills from there. He didn’t want our accounting office involved at all.”

“Except he never paid the bills,” added Auerbach. “One time I had to write a check from my own account for three thousand dollars because the phone company was about to turn all our phones off.”

By 1972, Trans-National was in bankruptcy, and ownership of the team changed hands again.